Author Notes:Think cheesy poundcake. Think party food. Think happy mornings, popping a few too many quesadillas in your mouth. In El Salvador they eat rich, buttery quesadillas in the morning with a big cup of coffee and I suggest you do the same. You’ll love the slight crunch of the sesame seeds in combination with the sweet/salty cake.

Food52 Review: We were instantly won over by these mysterious, ethereal breakfast cakes. Even the uncooked batter, a cloud of sugar, butter, sour cream and rice flour lightened with egg and perfumed with parmesan, inspired rhapsodic musings. Sasha's Salvadoran "quesadillas" are a unique blend of sweet, savory and tangy, with the texture of a fine, delicate corn muffin. The edges of the little cakes crisp and brown beautifully, while the centers remain snow white and tender. We recommend letting them cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them from the pan -- we found they slipped out easily this way. - A&M —The Editors

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Makes 18

1
cup rice flour

1
teaspoon baking powder

1
pinch salt

1
cup butter, softened

1
cup sugar

3
large eggs

1
cup sour cream*

1/2
cup grated hard cheese, such as cojita or parmesan*

sesame seeds, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Meanwhile, whisk together the rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, in the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter with sugar. Drop in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Next beat in the sour cream, cheese, and rice flour mixture until a smooth batter forms.

Spoon into greased muffin tins, filling each one 4/5th of the way up (this batter does not rise much). Sprinkle on the sesame seeds, to taste.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature - it'll taste like a cheesy pound cake. Amazing with a cuppa coffee in the morning.

I just baked this in an 8x8 dish instead of muffin tins, it is very good but rich! I didn't read the comments before so I didn't cut the butter down but I definitely would next time it is quite greasy but so yummy!?

Just baked these, following advice in comments to halve the butter and sugar. I baked them in mini-muffin tins, probably filled them a little too high, so I got 22. They came out perfectly, popped right out of the tins, and are not crumbly at all, not too sweet and not too buttery. And I am no baker! Although I also just made Laurie Colwin's Damp Gingerbread and it came out perfectly as well, so maybe 2016 will be my year of baking!

Though my daughters loved these (they dispatched 8 between the two of them!) my husband and I thought they were kind of weird and greasy. Thanks to other reviewers I cut back a tiny bit on the butter (used 3/4 c.) and sugar (maybe 13-14 Tbs. instead of the full cup), and they baked for about 23 minutes. My husband said they seemed underdone but I'm guessing that's the desired texture, like Pao de Queijo. They had nice flavor (salty & sweet; I added a glug of vanilla, which I'd do again) but texturally were too gummy and moist for my liking and, though they certainly felt light & fragile when removing them from the pan (had no trouble with crumbling or sticking) they tasted heavy-ish, I guess because of all of the butter. If I made them for my daughters again, I'd use 1 stick of butter and 3/4 C. of sugar.

I baked them directly as the recipe called for. They are so good! They popped out of the muffin tin after 15 minutes of baking and 10 minutes resting in the pan. Mine did not crumble in any way. They were moist and held together even when biting in to them. I used cotija and light sour cream. WOW there were so good. Served with chili tonight but what a delish breakfast. So glad you shared this recipe with us! Thank you!!

I really liked these but I can understand the mixed reviews concerning the quantity of butter and sour cream. They are very rich - you sort of have to forget about your arteries for a few minutes and just enjoy them. Yet for something so rich, they are indeed light and delicate to the point where a couple of them crumbled apart when removing them from the pan. We waited more than ten minutes and were very gentle but they really are that crumbly. It didn't matter too much to me - I ate them with a fork - but if I had guests and was at all concerned about presentation, that might be a bit frustrating. But not too much! I was more than happy to pick at the crumbs. Used Cojita over Parmesan - can't imagine enjoying parm very much, it seems an overpowering flavor to pair with the sweetness. Cojita was flavorful but in an understated way. Will definitely make again but might fiddle with quantities a bit.

Great recipe! Just made these for the second time, and I have to say my wife and I preferred the Cojita over the Parmesan. Both times they came out excellent, but they were moister and the flavor was better with the Cojita.

I made two batches, one with parmesan and one with cotija. I actually preferred the parmesan but maybe I'm not exotic enough. :) If I made them again I'd halve the sugar. Yummy, though, and filled up a 24-muffin pan producing adorable thin little cakes that I'll be serving to a large group of friends with breakfast tomorrow. Nice for my celiac friend to have something yummy to eat that everyone else will enjoy too.

This is a little piece of heaven!! In 4 days, I've made 3 batches already! Brought some to a camping trip, served them for breakfast and our Mexican friends LOVED it especially because of the Cotija. It was so nice to wake up to these cakes and have them with coffee on that cold morning by the river. This will definitely be a staple for camping trips and breakfasts for house guests. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

These quesadillas are wonderful!! I'm a baker at a restaurant and I've made these several times for our Sunday brunch gluten free pastry but everyone loves them, not just our gluten free patrons. I have to make a triple batch so there will be plenty for our staff as well. Usually I use cotija and sour cream. However, today I made them with crema salvadoreña and cotija and they are way more fabulous! I highly recommend using these two ingredients over sour cream and parmesan. I also made them into mini muffins and they turned out great. Always a big hit! Thank you.

The recipe calls for 'rice flour' ... can I use glutinous rice flour? The great god Google tells me this type of rice flour is made from 'sweet rice' but am not sure if this will be OK in this recipe. Please advise as I am eager to try this recipe!
My thanks in advance ... Christina